TWburn: Finding a path with less detours

[TWburn]

Mission

 

My mission for this year is to meet my weight goal of 140lbs.  Get stronger (some fairy dropped off a half rack and rogue weights in my garage...no excuses now!) .  Finish a bunch of NF Challenges (this place is fantastic, and all of these rebels are super supportive and give pretty awesome advice).  Just have fun!  (maybe I will sign myself up for a spartan sprint, or a mud run this year).

 

 

Quests

 

1) Track food/calories intake every single day by accurately measuring food and entering everything into MyFitnessPal (+3 Con)

    A - Track 100% of the challenge, and stay within 1400-1800 calorie goal (fluctuates depending on day) (+3)

    B - Track at least 90% of the challenge, and stay withing 50 calories of goal (+2)

    C - Track at least 80% of the challenge, and stay within 100 calories of goal (+1)

    

 

2) Exercise 6 days a week: 3 strength days using NF Barbell Batallion | 3 Cardio/HIIT training days (+2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 STA)

    A - Finish 100% of workout schedule ( +2, +2, +2)

    B - Finish above 90% of workout schedule (+1.25, +1.25, +1.25)

    C - Finish above 80% of workout schedule (+.5, +.5, +.5)

 

3) Drink 3/4 to 1 Gallon of water per day and STRETCH (+3 CON)

    A - Water goal reached and stretch every day (+3)

    B - Water goal & Stretch 90%+ (+2)

    C - Water goal & Stretch 80%+ (+1)

 

 

 

 

Life Quest

 

Read a book (+3 Wisdom for finishing a book of my choosing.  Must be a chapter book and be at least 500 pages long)

[TWburn]

Starting Weight: 184.7

Starting Body Fat%: 40.2%

Starting BMI: 29.7

Neck: 14

Arms: R-14.2 L-14.2

Chest: U-36.5 O-40.5

Waist: 41

Hips: 43.25

Thighs: R-27.25 L-27.5

Calves: R-15 L-15.25

And, my before photo

Current Max weight:

Deadlift 135#

Push press 85#

Weighted lunge 45#

Pull-ups max 6 (banded)

Bench press 100#

Back Squat 135#

[Why not?]

Those sound like excellent goals!

 

The Rogue fairy is paying me a visit tomorrow as well (I'm starting to make this an annual thing around tax time). I'm super excited

 

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you kick butt with your goals!

[TWburn]

The Rogue fairy is paying me a visit tomorrow as well (I'm starting to make this an annual thing around tax time). I'm super excited

 

The Rogue fairy is my new favorite!  I'm hoping her/his buddy will bring me some kettlebells, ropes, and tires soon!  But, I can't get too ahead of myself...I'm recovering from super tight (read - I suck at stretching) hip flexors and an overstretched quad (read - this idiot rocked out 12 sets of interval sprints on already sore quads 15 minutes after waking up and no warmup).  I dropped my squat weight to just the bar, and weightless lunges until I get get everything back under control.  I should post all of my current workout weights so I can see my gainz over the next 6 weeks.  

 

I'm excited to get back into the NF Community though.  7 months away from you fantastic rebels is too long!

[Why not?]

The Rogue fairy is my new favorite!  I'm hoping her/his buddy will bring me some kettlebells, ropes, and tires soon!  But, I can't get too ahead of myself...I'm recovering from super tight (read - I suck at stretching) hip flexors and an overstretched quad (read - this idiot rocked out 12 sets of interval sprints on already sore quads 15 minutes after waking up and no warmup).  I dropped my squat weight to just the bar, and weightless lunges until I get get everything back under control.  I should post all of my current workout weights so I can see my gainz over the next 6 weeks.  

 

I'm excited to get back into the NF Community though.  7 months away from you fantastic rebels is too long!

 

Oh goodness, never ever ever sprint without warming up. Take it from someone who ran track for 7 years. That's about the quickest way to injury this side of heavy olympic lifting without a warm-up. I have learned the hard way about insufficient warm-ups.

 

All that aside, if you have mobility issues, I STRONGLY recommend that you read Becoming a Supple Leopard, by Kelly Starrett. It's only 400 pages, but they're really big pages, so you could probably give yourself +3 Wisdom for reading it.

[TWburn]

Awesome!  Thanks for the recommendation @Why Not?

 

I know that you should always warm up, especially if you're working out just after waking up.  I know better in that department.  

 

The one thing I am having a little bit of trouble with is finding the right exercises to increase mobility in my hips.  Squats have been killing me, and is the reason why I dropped from 135# back down to just the bar (slightly intimidated that I just admitted my squat weight in a public forum) 0.0 .  I figured I would give that a try, work on my form some more and maybe try and find a stance that was a bit more forgiving on my hips.  I even entertained the idea of hack squats (shudder...going downhill backwards quickly).  I started out at 95# back in the first week of February, and I don't know if I jumped weight too quickly, or if I really just haven't been focusing on stretching my quads enough.  I'm leaning towards the latter.  So any advice is welcome and appreciated at this point.

[Devlin]

Subbed, looks like a great challenge and I think I need to make friends with this rogue fairy haha

[astormofsparkle]

Subbing to offer any and all support needed!

 

If you need any reading recommendations, I have a few that I'm working through and wanting to read. Goodreads is my life line when I'm in a crunch.

[TWburn]

So, my right quad is dead. It definitely wasn't ready for weighted lunges today and as soon as I felt it pull, I dropped to my knee and released the muscle. Holy hell! Looks like ice, ibuprofen, and my foam roller are going to be my best friends for the next 3 or 4 days.

It felt great during warm up and I probably should have stayed on the safe side and just done non-weighted lunges. It's definitely not as sore as it was after sprints last Friday.

But, on a brighter note, I finished everything else that wouldn't aggravate it! Disappointed in not realizing my body wasn't ready for certain exercises yet, but glad I got a decent workout in.

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[Why not?]

I'm excited to get back into the NF Community though.  7 months away from you fantastic rebels is too long!

 

I missed this before. I just returned after an 11 month hiatus myself, so I know the feeling.

[Devlin]

Looks like a rough start, make sure you take care of that quad, well done on the rest though zzz

[Why not?]

So, my right quad is dead. It definitely wasn't ready for weighted lunges today and as soon as I felt it pull, I dropped to my knee and released the muscle. Holy hell! Looks like ice, ibuprofen, and my foam roller are going to be my best friends for the next 3 or 4 days.

It felt great during warm up and I probably should have stayed on the safe side and just done non-weighted lunges. It's definitely not as sore as it was after sprints last Friday.

But, on a brighter note, I finished everything else that wouldn't aggravate it! Disappointed in not realizing my body wasn't ready for certain exercises yet, but glad I got a decent workout in.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Alright, a couple things. I have way too much experience with quad injuries. First, stretching = good, however, stretching injured muscles (other than VERY lightly) = bad. It sounds like you may have a slightly pulled quad. The first time I did that, I was 14. I then re-aggravated it around 5 times before it healed, thereby greatly dragging out the recovery process (what do you want from me, it was the middle of soccer season and I was playing on two teams). Rest the muscle until it feels good during warm-up, then wait another week before easing it back into your routine. Avoid heavy or explosive movements with it. Pulled muscles can be really sneaky, in that they make you think that they're back to full operational capability when they're really not.

 

I hope I don't come off like I'm lecturing here, just trying to offer some (hopefully helpful) advice based on my own painful experiences. I've pulled my right quad twice and my left quad once. All of them were soccer-related, and all involved several re-injuries before it healed. Learn from my mistakes! Haha

[Why not?]

Double post.

[Why not?]

Awesome!  Thanks for the recommendation @Why Not?

 

I know that you should always warm up, especially if you're working out just after waking up.  I know better in that department.  

 

The one thing I am having a little bit of trouble with is finding the right exercises to increase mobility in my hips.  Squats have been killing me, and is the reason why I dropped from 135# back down to just the bar (slightly intimidated that I just admitted my squat weight in a public forum) 0.0 .  I figured I would give that a try, work on my form some more and maybe try and find a stance that was a bit more forgiving on my hips.  I even entertained the idea of hack squats (shudder...going downhill backwards quickly).  I started out at 95# back in the first week of February, and I don't know if I jumped weight too quickly, or if I really just haven't been focusing on stretching my quads enough.  I'm leaning towards the latter.  So any advice is welcome and appreciated at this point.

 

You're going to get tired of me talking really fast I can't give you too much on your squats without seeing how you squat, but some basic form tips:

 

Feet should be about shoulder width apart

Toes should ideally point straight forward, but splayed slightly outward is also okay and a lot more common

Knees have to go outside your feet as you go down

Chest stays up

 

You don't have to worry about "admitting" your squat or whatever else here. Everyone has different abilities and everyone has to start somewhere before they can improve. With regards to your squat, what exactly are the issues you're encountering? Is it pain? Inability to achieve depth?

[TWburn]

I appreciate all of the advice!

I've learned about the sneakiness of the pulled muscle. I definitely caught it before it pulled too much so it's not too sore tonight. I stretched it a little bit but I tried my best not to overdo it because I was afraid of making it worse.

As far as my squats, if I go slightly wider than shoulders, toes straight I can get to 90, but my balance... I start to fall backwards. I'm not a little lady and I think my center of gravity is just...let's say off! Ha ha! I have a video of my squats from a few weeks ago. Let me see if I can find it, and I will post it tomorrow. Otherwise I will have to take a new one Friday.

My stance has been slightly wider than what most people do with toes further out. The balance is the bigger issue. My hips don't hurt while I'm doing squats, and it's weird because it actually gets better as I add weight during my warm up sets.

I have been playing with where my feet are and trying to focus on my form more recently.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Why not?]

I appreciate all of the advice!

I've learned about the sneakiness of the pulled muscle. I definitely caught it before it pulled too much so it's not too sore tonight. I stretched it a little bit but I tried my best not to overdo it because I was afraid of making it worse.

As far as my squats, if I go slightly wider than shoulders, toes straight I can get to 90, but my balance... I start to fall backwards. I'm not a little lady and I think my center of gravity is just...let's say off! Ha ha! I have a video of my squats from a few weeks ago. Let me see if I can find it, and I will post it tomorrow. Otherwise I will have to take a new one Friday.

My stance has been slightly wider than what most people do with toes further out. The balance is the bigger issue. My hips don't hurt while I'm doing squats, and it's weird because it actually gets better as I add weight during my warm up sets.

I have been playing with where my feet are and trying to focus on my form more recently.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That sounds good. I may be able to offer some pointers after seeing what your squat looks like.

 

It's not unusual for squats to become easier as you add weight when you have a tendency to fall backward. Depending on where you hold the bar, it can act as a counterweight.

[DarK_RaideR]

Along for the ride and curious to learn what all this Rogue Fairy business is all about...

[Sam Ashen]

Hi, TWBurn!  I just joined Team XCOM and am checking out my Squaddies!  A lot of our goals are similar.  Stretching is another important one for me because 9 hours on a Sky Ranger to do a little mission and 9 hours return to base and get ready for the next mission - That can be a pretty brutal schedule.

[Why not?]

Along for the ride and curious to learn what all this Rogue Fairy business is all about...

 

My Rogue fairy was supposed to arrive between 12 and 2, so I extended my lunch. My Rogue fairy was late so now I have to wait until 5:30.

[TWburn]

My Rogue fairy was supposed to arrive between 12 and 2, so I extended my lunch. My Rogue fairy was late so now I have to wait until 5:30.

Did your rogue fairy make it?

My detour fairy showed up again. I'm giving my leg until tomorrow to start working back into my workouts. And when the challenge starts Monday I will work into it all slowly as to not cause any more injury.

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[Why not?]

Did your rogue fairy make it?

My detour fairy showed up again. I'm giving my leg until tomorrow to start working back into my workouts. And when the challenge starts Monday I will work into it all slowly as to not cause any more injury.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

YES! I will put pictures in the Garage Gym thread later, as I assemble my new equipment

[Everstorm]

Dropping in from team X-COM. How's that leg doing?

[TWburn]

It's doing pretty good this morning. Decided on an easy run (no intervals quite yet, maybe Wednesday) to get everything warmed up.

Still feeling a little tight in the upper quad but definitely getting better! Thanks for checking in Phoenix!

Day 1 off to a great start! Had a bad night sleep, a lot of things on my mind but got up and started my day out right anyway. My legs felt so heavy. Foam rollers are evil inventions.

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[jaex]

Hello Assault buddy!  Ready to kick some alien tale?  

 

Glad the leg is doing better.  If it gets worse, always remember the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and also ibuprofen for any swelling.

 

 

 

Life Quest

 

Read a book (+3 Wisdom for finishing a book of my choosing.  Must be a chapter book and be at least 500 pages long)

 

So no Dr. Seuss books?  

[Robpocalypse]

Hi TWburn! Xcom sniper setting up overwatch!

I feel your pain on squats and balance. My balance in general is iffy at best and several times I had to drop weight to work on form and balance. I feel comfortable and on point most of the time, but still have periodic bouts where I turn into a teetering tower of squat fail.

Someone suggested front squats if balance is a problem, or using box squats to work on balance. Box squats help me get straightened out from time to time.